Quick comparison
| # | App | Pricing | Verified price | Open source | Platforms | Verified facts | Score |
|---|
| 1 |  Hestia Control Panel | Open source | — | Yes | Self-hosted, Linux | 5 of 5 | 68.8 |
| 2 |  Webmin | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Self-hosted, Web | 5 of 5 | 61.8 |
| 3 |  Cockpit | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Self-hosted, Web | 5 of 5 | 59.4 |
| 4 |  CyberPanel | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Self-hosted | 4 of 4 | 42.3 |
| 5 |  ISPConfig | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Self-hosted, Web | 5 of 5 | 42.3 |
| 6 |  froxlor | Open source | — | Yes | Self-hosted, Linux | 5 of 5 | 42.3 |
1Best for: Freelancers and small hosts who want free cPanel-style site, mail and DNS hosting on their own VPS.
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux
Why switch from Plesk
Free, open-source panel covering websites, mail and DNS on Debian or Ubuntu, with no licence fees.
Pros
- Free and GPL-licensed with no per-server licence
- Runs web, mail, DNS and databases from one panel
- One-click installs for WordPress, Nextcloud and more
- Light enough for a 1 GB VPS without spam filtering
Cons
- Only supports Debian and Ubuntu LTS releases
- Must be installed on a fresh server, not an existing one
- Community forum support only, no paid support plan
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
2Best for: Admins of self-managed Linux servers who want a free GUI for nearly every system setting.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted, Web
Why switch from Plesk
Free, open-source system administration panel for Linux servers, with Virtualmin for hosting.
Pros
- Free and BSD-licensed, with no paid tier needed for the core panel
- Modules cover a huge range of services, from DNS to mail to databases
- Edits the normal config files, so it coexists with manual changes
- Actively maintained with frequent releases
Cons
- Interface is dense and option-heavy, with a learning curve
- Not a hosting panel on its own; multi-site hosting needs Virtualmin
- Exposing a root-level web panel needs careful security setup
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified- License
- BSD-3-Clause
- Checked Oct 29, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
- Yearly installations
- About 1,000,000
- Checked Nov 8, 2026webmin.com(opens source in a new tab)
- Supported systems
- RHEL, Alma, Rocky, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu and more
- Checked Nov 8, 2026webmin.com(opens source in a new tab)
- Free SSL certificates
- Let's Encrypt built in
- Checked Nov 8, 2026webmin.com(opens source in a new tab)
3Best for: Linux admins who want a clean browser view of a server's logs, storage, network and containers.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted, Web
Why switch from Plesk
Free web console for general Linux server administration when you don't need hosting accounts.
Pros
- Uses the normal system login and tooling, so it never fights the CLI
- Uses no resources when idle thanks to socket activation
- Handles VMs, containers and storage in one modern UI
- Preinstalled on Fedora Server and packaged for major distros
Cons
- No web hosting features such as sites, mail accounts or DNS zones
- Fewer service-specific modules than Webmin
- Some browsers and Apple devices need workarounds
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
4Best for: VPS owners hosting WordPress sites who want a free cPanel alternative
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted
Why switch from Plesk
Free, open-source panel with unlimited sites, built on OpenLiteSpeed for fast WordPress hosting.
Pros
- Free and open source with unlimited websites
- OpenLiteSpeed and LiteSpeed cache suit WordPress well
- Built-in WordPress staging, backups and Docker manager
- Handles email, DNS and SSL in one panel
Cons
- Built around LiteSpeed rather than Apache or Nginx
- Some management tools are paid add-ons
- Documentation and polish trail commercial panels like Plesk
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.312
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
5Best for: Hosting providers and admins managing web, mail and DNS across several Linux servers
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Self-hosted, Web
Why switch from Plesk
Free BSD-licensed panel for web, mail and DNS, with no per-server licence fees.
Pros
- Free under the BSD licence, no licence keys
- Manages many servers and clusters from one panel
- Reseller and client accounts built in
- SOAP and REST API plus a command-line tool
Cons
- Dated, utilitarian interface
- Billing and migration tools are paid extensions
- Linux only; setup assumes server administration skills
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.312
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
6Best for: Admins and small hosts who want a free, lightweight panel for Debian or Ubuntu servers
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux
Why switch from Plesk
Free open-source hosting panel for Debian and Ubuntu if Plesk licence costs are the issue.
Pros
- Free and open source with no paid tiers for the panel
- Covers domains, email, databases, FTP, SSL and resellers in one place
- API and CLI installer make automated deployments practical
- Official Debian and Ubuntu package repositories
Cons
- Officially targets Debian and Ubuntu; other distributions need manual work
- Much smaller plugin and app-installer ecosystem than cPanel or Plesk
- Expects solid Linux administration knowledge to install and maintain
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.312
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula